Farmer sentiment sees post-election jump in November
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Agriculture producers across the country showed a big increase in optimism for the future following the November presidential election, according to the latest Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.
The barometer is calculated monthly from a telephone survey of 400 agricultural producers across the country. Purdue says the results of the survey indicated that many farmers expect a more favorable regulatory and tax environment for the agricultural sector.
The barometer rose 30 points to a reading of 145 in November which James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture, said is the highest reading since May 2021.
Mintert said respondents were asked both before and after the election if they thought environmental regulations impacting agriculture would be more or less restrictive or about the same.
“Compared to before the election, only 10% of the people in the survey thought environmental regulations affecting agriculture would be less restrictive,” he said. “After the election in November, 55%. A huge swing.”
The survey was conducted from Nov. 11-15. Purdue said responses to the survey’s base questions were nearly all more positive in November than in October. One-third of November’s respondents said they expect their operation to be better off financially a year from now, compared to 19% who felt that way in October.
The barometer’s Future Expectations Index jumped 37 points to a reading of 161. The Current Conditions Index also improved to a reading of 113, marking only the second time it has been above 100 since March.
Mintert also noted that the barometer’s Farm Financial Performance Index saw another double-digit jump in November, rising about 38 points since September. He said while respondents are more optimistic about their farm’s financial performance, the center’s numbers don’t match that optimism.
“When we do the survey, we don’t ask people to go check their balance sheet or their income statement,” he said. “We just ask them how they feel about their farm’s financial performance effectively. So you get a kind of an off-the-cuff response. Clearly this, at least in my view, was a sentimental response or a change in sentiment response as opposed to really looking at their own financials.”
Mintert and Michael Langemeier from the Center for Commercial Agriculture discussed the latest survey in the Purdue Commercial AgCast: